Happy “salt air and the rust on your door” eve everyone! As always, with the end of the month comes my monthly wrap up. I think July was an overall more interesting month than June was, so I’ve got more to talk about in this wrap up, let’s get into it!
This month was Summerween, which I always love and I read 4 novels and 3 short stories during the course of the readathon. The short stories aren’t included in this wrap up since they’re part of a larger collection, but I did read them! Overall it was an okay reading month. I got to read some books that I was really excited about and enjoyed quite a lot, so that’s always good! All but 2 of the books that I read this month were books that I own physically that I own (okay I did also utilize audiobooks for some of them, but that still means books from my physical tbr were read!).
I did finally get around to starting my Les Miserables reread and annotation, which I am so excited about, but I’m currently super drained mentally and since I want to be really present in the story while I annotate, I haven’t gotten very far in which has bummed me out slightly. I’m hoping to make at least a little dent in it next month once camp is over and I’ve got some time off of work.
Books read this month:
- Back to You by Ann Liang (3.5 stars)
- This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum (4 stars)
- You Did Nothing Wrong by C.G. Drews (3 stars)
- A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James (3 stars)
- Heartstopper, Vol. 6 by Alice Oseman (4.5 stars)
- Teach the Torches to Burn by Christina Dodd (3.5 stars)
- The Whisking Hour by Ellie Alexander (3 stars)
- All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles (3.5 stars)
- The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (4 stars)
- A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (4 stars)
Blog posts and vlogs I loved this month:
- I always look forward to Gavin’s Summerween Videos, and I loved this this year he decided to do some decade themed reading for Summerween!
- I thought that Jananie’s Should Influences Get Book Deals? video was really interesting and I learned quite a bit about the publishing industry that I had very little knowledge of previously!
- I’ve heard nothing but fantastic things about Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy, so I wasn’t surprised to see that Dini loved it as well! This is such a great review and has made me more excited to pick up this one.
- I love this gallery wall set up that Amanda from AmandaRachLee did in her journal and I’ll definitely have to try something like this in the future!
- Kayla did a video of 2027 Book Releases to Add to Your TBR and of course, I added some to my tbr! Meg also shared a July-December 2026 Most Anticipated Releases video that I loved. There were some books on my tbr already, but some, like the Ellery Lloyd, that I wasn’t aware of and am very excited to read!
- Bestie Helena is back with her review of Extracurricular by Rachel Lynn Solomon! I’ve been looking forward to reading this one, and Helena’s review made me more excited to do so!
- I loved Gavin’s reaction video to Heartstopper Forever!
- Kayla’s video where she had to guess books based on one word clues from her husband was so fun and hilarious, I loved it!
My posts this month:
I had actually planned on sharing a few more mini review posts (and didn’t plan on posting a review of Great Big Beautiful Life), but basically all of my brain power was being used by work this month, so those didn’t end up happening. I may share some of the reviews later, I may not, we’ll just have to wait and see!
This month I was really trying to prioritize some screen free time once I was home from work! I spend so much time on the computer, during the summer especially, with setting up rosters, sending emails, working on scripts, etc. etc. etc., so my screentime during the work day is crazy high. I’ve been doing coloring pages, reading/annotating and some craft projects! While I will usually have the tv on while I’m doing these things, I don’t really think of that as screen time in the same way as being on my computer/phone, and it’s been really nice to give my eyes a rest! I made a sushi bake for dinner over the weekend and it was very successful! I really loved how it turned out and will definitely be making it again.
Towards the beginning of the month I went to the book signing for Every Version of You by Natalie Messier at one of my favorite bookstores and I had such a wonderful time! It was so nice to meet Natalie and I loved listening to her talking about how Every Version of You came to be and her background in writing for television. I haven’t gotten the chance to read it yet, but I’m really looking forward to reading it in August!
I got to go to another Bay FC match this month! I saw them play my second favorite team, Gotham FC, which is always fun for me because while yes, I always want Bay to win, it is actually a win-win situation for me. My mom and saw in a section of the stadium that we have not sat in before, we were right by one of the corner flags and had such an incredible view, I literally am going to try to get seats there every match if possible 🤭 Bay did in fact end up losing, but we had a really fun night which is what matters!
I actually watched some new movies/tv shows this month! Y’all should be proud! I watched Ready or Not 2 and loved it. I loved the first film and thought this one was so fun as well. Plus, I’m a big fan of Kathryn Newton and I think she’s so great in the horror genre (I also loved her as Amy March, talk about range!).
Heartstopper Forever came out this month and while I really was not prepared to say goodbye to these characters and this story, I absolutely watched it right when it was available and thought it was so great! I’m so glad that they got to wrap up Nick and Charlie’s story this way, and I thought that the acting, especially from Kit and Joe, was so wonderful in the film. I rewatched all 3 seasons of Heartstopper and read Volume 6 before the movie was released, so it’s been a Heartstopper filled few months for me. I love this series so much and it’s definitely one I’ll return to again and again.
I finally got around to watching Off Campus because they released a version of Baby Now That I’ve Found You with Niall Horan (which of course is perfect and I’m so obsessed with, Niall sounds incredible) and I’m so glad that the song got released because I had a great time watching Off Campus! I really enjoyed the show and the overall vibes, and I’m looking forward to season 2!
One of the media related things I was most looking forward to this month was the Hadestown proshot being shown in theaters! I went last weekend and oh my god it truly was an incredible experience! I’ve always loved Hadestown and getting to see it this way was completely amazing; I thought it was beautifully filmed and would watch it a million more times. I do still have the same opinions about certain casting…but overall, I truly loved it and think this is just further proof that we need to release more proshots!
When it comes to music, I watched An Evening with Dua Lipa and I was honestly so impressed with the show that she put on and the arrangements of her songs with a full orchestra, that was honestly so cool. I’ve been meaning to watch her concert film that was recorded in Mexico, and watching this made me more excited to do so.
Gracie Abram’s latest album Daughter from Hell came out this month. So far, I’ve only done one full listen of the album, but I did enjoy it a lot! On first listen my favorite tracks were: Hit the Wall, Death Wish, The Knife, Men Like You, Minibar and What if It’s Right. Kelsea Ballerini also released a new song with Marshmallow called Another Drink and it’s a bop, I’ve had it stuck in my head all month.
And that’s a wrap on July! Overall, this month was much better for me than June was for a number of reasons, so that’s always appreciated! I’d love to know how the month went for you, so let me know in the comments.
Until next time 💜
Leave a Reply